Janus stood quietly under the light of the full moon. He stood at the edge of Lake Superior, hands in his pockets. The waves hissed across the stones. A lone door stood partially open some distance down the beach.

The wind brushed gently by, blowing drops of water and clumps of mist into his face. For a moment, he could have sworn he felt someone leaning against his side. The feeling was gone a second later and he brushed it off as nothing.

Janus couldn't think. His thoughts were muddled and fuzzy, like a hundred balls of fluffy yarn dropped and tangled together. He had never felt this way before Rinnae was gone.

She had made her choice, and he respected that... but it didn't hurt any less. Knowing that he could have made her change her mind, could have gotten her to turn away and return with him, weighed him down. He felt so heavy.

He couldn't shake the memories and thoughts of Rinnae. He could have gone with her. Heaven knows he would have been useless but he could have gone. That thought made him feel sick. He had been too much of a coward to go with the love of his life. To protect her. She was dead because of it.

He had gone back to the place of her death, of course. He had been clinging to a hope that she would be alive still. He'd found her body alone there. Inside the dusty warehouse in the middle of the desert.

Janus dropped to his knees, picking up a stone the size of his fist and flinging it into the rolling waves. His anger at himself paired with the grief of Rinnae's death overflowed. Tears started to fall, despite his best efforts to stop them.

The wind brushed by again. Soft and soothing. It carried a word, spoken by a familiar, beautiful voice. Bifrons...

Janus snapped his head up and gazed around. He listened intently, but the whisper was gone. Only the quiet hiss and crash of waves against rock remained.

The door down the rocky shore creaked as someone opened it. Janus didn't look. It was probably Zeus or Nyx coming to tell him thay he needed to get himself together. He hunched his shoulders.

As the footsteps across the shifting stones grew closer, Janus realized that one step was quicker than the other. He tipped his head just enough to look at whoever was approaching.

Deep tan skin, horrible Hawaiian print shorts, yellow shirt, blue and white hair, pronounced limp on his right leg, short. It wasn't Zeus or Nyx, but Poseidon. The boy wasn't smiling like he usually was.

Poseidon sat down next to Janus with a quiet sigh. He looked over at Janus, his head cocked to one side. He didn't ask if Janus was alright. Didn't ask if there was anything he could do. Didn't even tell a stupid joke. He just watched and listened.

A blob of water the size of Poseidon's fist seperated from the next wave and drifted over to them. Poseidon turned away from Janus, focusing on the water. After a moment, he started humming. The tune was unfamiliar to Janus, but it was good to hear anyway.

Less than five minutes later, Poseidon held out a hand. The water rested in his palm, shimmering brightly in the moonlight. It had been sculpted into a small three masted ship, complete with rigging. The water didnt distort or shift, but the light cast through it cast dancing shadows on Poseidon's hand.

"All wandering souls need a way home," Poseidon said quietly. He gently placed the watery ship on Janus' leg. It wasn't wet, just cold. "Or... sometimes... an escape." Poseidon gave Janus a small, sad smile. "After all, the choice is yours."

Janus gently picked up the ship, glancing at Poseidon. He looked down again quickly, not saying anything. After a minute, Poseidon got up and drifted back to the door, slipping through.

Janus was alone again.

And he had a choice.